This course is intended to introduce the student to the work of the most representative authors of Augustan Rome. We will read selections of works in prose and verse of the late Republic and early Principate. Our reading material will include (but not be limited to) Horace, Propertius, and Livy. Their lives and careers coincided with Rome’s exit from a series of disastrous civil wars and its transition from a republic to an empire. All the authors under discussion lived in an era when Rome was redefining itself in a political dialog dominated by the figure of Augustus. Some of them were befriended by the palace and maintained long-lasting relationships that shaped both their lives and works.

In this class we will focus on improving your reading skills and at the same time expanding your knowledge of the grammar and syntax. Discussion and analysis of the texts, exams in writing, and sight-reading will be important components of the course. We will also examine each author’s language and style, and, when necessary, meter. In addition, you will be asked to critically approach and comment on select articles of modern scholarship.

Aspects pertaining to the place of each work in its historical context will also be addressed: how does the work relate to the events of the Augustan era, what was its purpose, does it reflect the political and other values of the period, and so on.

Prerequisite: three semesters of Latin.